Valve body with material flow guide and inclined seat structure



Aug. 3, 1954 0. M GREGOR 2,635,426

IAL FLOW GUIDE VALVE BODY WITH MA AND INCLINED S STRUCTURE Filed June 151949 2 Sheets-Sheet l w VEN TOR 00 via MacGregOr A Horneys Aug. 3, 1954M GREGOR VALVE BODY WITH MATERIAL FLOW GUIDE Filed June 15, 1949 ANDINCLINED SEAT STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 ,0 l8. 4 sq. in. 54 I/ I 7L2X X j 7 J 52 5 AREA A 6 49 l2 AREA sqJn 6,49 s In VALVE SE47 4 AREA=6.49sq. in.

Fig/l INVEA/ r05 00 via MacGregor Attorneys Patented Aug. 3, 1954 VALVEBODY WITH MATERIAL FLOW GUIDE AND INCLINE!) SEAT STRUCTURE David.MacGregor, East Chicago, Ind., assignpr to Edward Valves, 1110., EastQhicago, 1nd,?!) corporation of Indiana Application June 15, 1949,Serial No. 99,280

11 Claims. 1

This invention relates to valves for the control of the flow of fluidsat high pressure and high velocity, and in particular to an improvedvalve andbody construction which reduces the friction losses in thefluid passing through the valve.

Among the common types of valves used for the control of-the flow ofhigh pressure fluid such as steam or the like, at high velocities, arethose types of valves known as non-return valves and check valves. Bothof these types of valves are characterized by the use of a closureformedby combined valve disk and piston, which is raised from the valveseat by the fluid pressure to allow the fluid to flow in one direction,but will automatically close by its own weight to prevent the flow, offluid in the reverse direction. Pressure on the discharge side of suchvalves, which would ordinarily cause a reverse flow, assists in closingthistype of closure against its seat and holding it there. In thenon-return type of valve,

the opening of the valve closure is controllable byan exteriorhand-wheel or the like so that the amount of fluid passing through thevalve can be adjusted. A valve of such type is disclosed in my copendingapplication Serial No. 662,340, filed April 15, 1946, now Patent No.2,621,016. In a check valve, there is no exterior control to adjust theamount that the closure risesirom its seat, so that under normalconditions the valve will rise to the end of its strolgeand provide afullopening for the passage of the fluid. Such a check valve isdisclosed in my copending application Serial No. 746,582, filed May 7,1947, now aban on In. valves of either of the above two types, twogeneral forms are common. The first type is usually lrnown as the globetype, wherein the valve is placed in a straight length of pipe andwherein the fluid entering the valve body is substantially coaxial withthe fluid leaving the valve body. The other type is usually known as theangle type, wherein the fluid leaves the valve at an angle ofsubstantially 90 with respect to its entering direction, this type beingcustomarily used where two pipes meet at a right angle and the valvebody itself joins 'the two pipes.

In the valves of the types mentioned, which are described only asillustrative examples of valves to whichmy invention is applicable, thevalve seat is normally in a horizontal plane and the axis of the movablevalve piston or closure assembly is vertical. in accordance with myinvention, I placethe valve seat in a non-horizontalposition such thatthe movementof the valve closure ass mbly, While still in a verticalplane, is inclined'frearwardly or away from {the outlet side of thevalve body. Byvmeans' ofthis construction, the closure presents less.obstruction to the flow of thefluid through thebody and because of theinclinationof the bottomof theolosureit directsfluidtoward the outlet.The flowing fluid is fullyeilectiveto raise theclosure' to [itsuppermost position. In order to further provide an interior streamliningwithinthe .valve body and to guide th'efluid towards the Ioutletinaccordance with my'invention, the guide f vanes within the body whichguide .thecIosur'ein' its movements towards and away-from .theseat',They be inclined, towards the, outlet. of the valve body.

This application is a continuationlin partflof my copending application,for' Inclined Axis Valves, Serial No. 75%,95Tlfded July', 3l, 1947,1iow abandoned, wherein the closure is shoyvnas a disk which isclosed against the valve seat. I tegrallyconnected to the disk isa'piston having substantially the same diameter as the. disk, theconnection, being made by a cylindrical tube having a diametersubstantiallysmaller than .the disk or piston. The piston slides in .abore in the valve body, and. when thediskisfully raised a econd diskmount don the tube closes the bottom end of thebore. With the aforesaidconstruction, as soon as the valve'disk is raised from its seat andfluid pressure is built up on the otherside of the seat, .part of thepress re on the bottom of the disk iscounter-balanced by pressure, onthe top of the .disk,'thus reducing. the lifting effect of the pressure,of the fluid on the bottom .ofrthe disk. ,Also, a ringis secured to theexteriorof the, cylindrical tube, so as to fully close, the bottomof the.bore to reduce fluidlfriction losses in this region when the closure isfully raised. In the improve d construction disclosed herein, theclosure is constructedscthat the tube connecting the piston and the diskis substantially asv large indiameteras the pistonand disk, thuSreducing to a minimumthe counterbalancing pressure on the top of thedisk when open, so that greater lift is obtained. Furthermore, theboreis always closed by this enlarged connecting portionirrespective' ofthe position of the closure along its stroke andthere is still lessrestrictionto the flow of fluid through the valve.

It is therefore a primary object of my invention to provide an improvedand novel construction and arrangement oi a valve body and floatin valvecl s whic Pre n s a i i u of int r e ,o res s an t the a sa 9 fluid 3through the body, While at the same time the fluid is ffully eifectiveto raise the valve disk from its sea Another important object of myinvention is the provision of an improved valve body and closurecombination wherein the closure, while it is open, assists in directingthe fluid flow towards the outlet of the valve body.

Another object is the provision of an improved valve and closureassembly wherein the closure assembly is so positioned when open as todeflect and guide the flowing fluid towards the outlet of the body,whereby the resistance to the flow of the fluid through the body isdecreased.

Another object is the provision of a novel and improved valve body andclosure wherein the bottom of the closure is inclined so as to guide theflowing fluid towards the outlet of the body, and wherein guide elementsdisposed within the body to guide the closure in its movements towardsand away from its seat, are also disposed so as to assist in directingthe flow of the fluid towards the outlet.

Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section through an angle typenon-return valve, wherein the improved closure is employed.

Figure 1a is a view of an alternate closure, as

disclosed in my parent application Serial No. 764,957;

Figure 2 is a partial section substantially along the line 22 of Figure1;

Figure 3 is a partial section substantially along the line 3-3 of Figure1;

Figure 4 is a partial transverse section sub stantially along the line4-413-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal vertical section through a globe typenon-return valve;

Figure 6 is a partial transverse section sub stantially along the line6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a partial transverse section substantially along the line 11of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a partial transverse section substantially along the line8-8 of Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a partial transverse section substantially along the line 99of Figure 5;

Figure 10 is a partial transverse section substantially along the line IllHl of Figure 5;

Figure 11 is a partial transverse section substantially along the lineHH of Figure 5; and

Figure 12 is a partial transverse section substantially along the linel2l2 of Figure 5.

As shown in Figure 1, a valve body 2!! of the angle type has an inletpassageway 2| and an outlet passageway 22, substantially at right anglesto each other. A flange 23 having a series of spaced bolt holes 24,provides means for fastening the inlet portion of the valve body to acorresponding flange on the end of a pipe. A similar flange 25 and boltholes 26 provide means for fastening the outlet end of the body 29 to apipe at right angles to the first pipe. Means other than the flangedconnections shown may be used to connect the valve body to the pipe. Forexample if the connections are to be welded the inlet and outlet may beprovided with connections particularly designed for welding, as shown inmy aforesaid application Serial No. 746,582. An integral tubularextension 29 extends from the valve body at a slight angle from the axisof the inlet passageway 2| and also makes an obtuse angle of 97 with theoutlet passageway 22.

The tubular extension 29 has a central bore 30 through which may beinserted a closure assembly l9 comprising a valve disk 31 and spacedguiding piston 32. The piston 32 has a sliding fit in the bore 36 and isconnected to the disk 3| by a tubular part l6 of reduced diameter toprovide a slight clearance between the bore and said part. In theillustrated embodiment the piston 32 and part I5 are in one piece, withthe part It welded to the disk 3! at 33 to form a single rigid unit. Thebody of the valve is enlarged at 35 between the inlet passageway 21 andthe outlet passageway 22, as is apparent from Figures 1 and 4, in orderto provide sulficient internal cross sectional area for the passage ofthe fluid despite the fact that part of the cross sectional area isoccupied by the closure 19.

At the point of intersection of the axes of the central bore 39 and theinlet passageway 21, a valve seat 34 is provided, the seat beingcircular in the illustrated embodiments. The seat 34 does not protrudeinto the enlarged body of the valve, and does not obstruct the flow ofthe fluid toward the outlet 22. The plane of the valve seat isperpendicular to the aforesaid bore 30, so that the disk 3| and the seat34 will be in engagement throughout their peripheries when the disk isclosed against the seat.

Within the enlarged portion 35 of the body and integral with the wallsthereof, are provided three guide vanes, only two of which are shown at36 and 31 in Figures 1 and 4. These guide vanes are arranged insubstantially equiangularly spaced relation about the projected axis ofthe central bore 30, to guide the lower end of the closure is in itsmovements toward and away from the valve seat 34 to assure that the disk3| will seat properly when the valve is closed. The piston 32 sliding inthe bore 39, provides a spaced guide to insure the axial movement of theclosure l9 during its travel.

The guide vane 36 lies in a substantially vertical plane but the vane 3?is curved toward the outlet passageway 22 as is shown in Figure 1, sothat it assists in guiding the fluid toward the outlet passageway 22.The third guide vane, opposite to and similar to the vane 3'1, isdisposed at a substantially equal distance from the other side of vane38, and is inclined like vane 31 to deflect the fluid flow in the mannerdescribed. Those parts of the structure so far described are common toeither a non-return valve of the type disclosed, or a check valve.

When forming part of a non-return valve, a valve stem 39 is guided by abonnet 40, which is securely fastened to body extension 29 and suitablysealed with respect to the central bore 30 therein. A yoke, not shown,is attached to the flange 4! at the top of the tubular extension 29 asby means of bolts passing through the bolt holes 42 therein. Theaforesaid yoke guides the upper end of the valve stem 39 and generallysupports a hand-wheel or the like which can be turned to raise or lowerthe valve stem 39 to allow the closure 19 to rise from its seat underfluid pressure and permit the passage of fluid through the valve body,and also is effective to force the closure against the seat 34 and inopposition to the pressure of the fluid entering through the inletpassageway 23. The stem 39 passes through the piston 32 and bearsagainst a coaxial seat in the upper surface of the valve disk 31, sothat even if the valve stem 39 is in a raised position to permit thevalve disk to open under the pressure of normally flowing fluid, theclosure can fallzof. its own-weight independentlyqof; stem' 39: in the.event that:for some. reason. the flow cof; flui should :reversedirection or stop. A-smalli hole -3.8.through the wall ofxthe part Itadjacent its lower end permits the drainage of condensate trapped inside.the closure. If desired, an equalizer tubemay beused: to. connect theupper end of thelboreflt with the; outlet Min-themanner disclosed: inthe. copending' application; Serial No. 70,750-filed January 13,1949,-by.Eldert:B. Pool for Valve Equalizer.

'.The details. of construction of the valve. stem .39, the bonnet46,.and-the yoke, which is not shwn,'do not form any .part of .thisinvention, and asthe invention is equallyapplicableto a check valve,these elements would not beused in the case of a check valveconstruction. -.Wher;e the-device is used as. acheck valve-the, meansforsealing; and closing'the upper end of the central bore 30might-advantageously be of the type shown in my aforesaid applicationSerial No. 746,582, although itwill be understood that any suitablesealing'means may be used.

In Figure la is shown the construction ofthe closure as disclosed in myaforesaid parent application Serial No; 764,957. Here the closureassembly 45 comprises; a valve disk46, a guiding piston. and aconnecting tubular element .48 between the disk and pistonwhich, asshown,

is considerably smaller in diameter than the pisten 41. Thus, when theclosure is raised, the lower end ofthe bore 36 forms apocket around thetube 48. 'In order to close this pocket and better streamlinethe-interior of the valve body when the closure is raised, a ring 49- iswelded in the proper location. on the tube t3, as also disclosed inmypatent for Valve Constructions, '-Patent"No. 2,621,015. Also, ifdesiredqin lieu of ring 49 the piston 41 may be substantially elongatedin the direction of the diskAB, as disclosed in my patent for ValveConstruction. Patent No. 2,621,016, wherein the piston is of.sufl'icient length so'that, when the piston and disk assembly is at thetop of its-stroke, .the bottom-most surface of the piston will seal thelower end of the bore 36 at its juncture with the interior of bodyportion135v and outlet'22.

In order to further insure the streamlined passage of the. fluid throughthe valve body with .a minimum of-pressure losses, the interior of thevalve body is streamlined and the portions having "difierent crosssectional areas are smoothly.

faired into one another so that there are no pro- ;tuberances and sothat the fluid can be directed smoothly from inlet to. outlet.

As previously mentioned, the cross sectional area-of the passageway.through the valve body is greatly increased in the region normallyoccupied, by the closure assembly in its open position, toprovide asufficient passageway for the fluid fiow'past it. In the drawings ofFigures 1 to l, which illustrate the angle type of valve, are shown thecross sectional areas at the inlet passageway 2! and outlet passageway22, aswell as :at thesections-L-AB, section22 and section .33. Thesedimensions are illustrative only and are not meantby way of limitation.A valve .body having these relative dimensions wouldbe normally usedwith pipes having an internal diameter of 2%; inches, which is thediameter of the inlet and outlet passageways 2| and 22.

Figures 5 to 12 illustrate the same principles .as applied toa-globetype of valve body of either the. non-return. type or-the checktype. In this case, the inl tqp ssagew v.Handoutlet passagemay". 53are..-substantial1y coax al. atth iriinsrass and egress..endsrespec ivly, and. h central: bore '54 within the tubular e te sion55 li sin tommon vertical plane with said passageways and makes :an. obtuse angle ofw th e outl p w y 53- It:li :1lO-T. 6 und st od thata in the case of theangle typevalve of Figure s ,1-4, this97 angle is by way ofillustrationonly and not a limitation, since it can vary withinsubstantial limits and the unseated valve disk will still deflectthe'flowing fluid toward theoutlet passageway 41.

Although drawn to .a smaller scale, the globe type valve body of Figures5 to 12 is also intended foruse with a pipe having an internal diameterof 2 /8 inches, which isthe diameter of themlet passageway 52 and the.outlet passageway 5.3. The sectional viewsof Figures 6-12 show theconformation of the passageways at various vtrausverse'seetionsthroughthe valve body, and also .give dimensions which are illustrativeof suitable cross-sectional areas to provide a minimum obstruction tothe flow of fluid through the valve-body.

The inclination of the valve seat and closure assembly so that the diskdirects the fluid towards the outlet passageway in the case of the globevalve of Figure '5, has-all of the advantages'of the similar inclinationin the angle valves of'Figures l and 1a. It will be apparent that there.- verse inclination of the guide piston and the valve disk, so thatthe axis thereof makes an obtuse angle with the axis of the outletpassageway, assists in directing the flow of fluid to the outletpassageway and presents less obstruction to the passage of fluid throughthe valve body than is the case when the valve disk lies in either ahorizontalplane, which is customary, or where it is so inclined that itsaxis of movement makes an acute angle of less than with the outletpassageway. In each of the described types of construction, the'seatcontacting face :of the valve disk portion of the closure ispreferablyconvex or streamlined so as to offer a minimum of restriction to fluidflow. Also, by reasonofthemovementof the valve-member at an obtuseinclination across the entrance to the outlet passage and in opposedrelation to theingress end of the inlet-passage, the bottom face of thevalve-disk or member, whenin open'position, supplements theflow-directingvanes on the valve :body to imme'diatelydivert the majorpart -of the entering fluid into the outlet passage, with a minimum offrictional resistance.

By-means of this construction, I have provided .a valve-whereinobstructiontothe free flow of fluid throughthe body is reduced. Freeflow of 'fluidis further facilitated by the inclinedgui'de vanes, suchas shown at 31 in Figure l and at 56 in 'Figure 5, andthe frictionlosses and obstruction to the flow of'the fluid is'reduced atv the lowerend of the central bores inthe tubular .extensions of the valve bodiesby the described ring AQ-or elongated-piston whenthe valve ;dis k .ofFigure 1a is raised from its seat. A ring such as. 49' in Fig. la is notneeded when: the improved closure assembly shown in Figures 1 and.5 isused.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or-essentialcharacteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are therefore to be considered in tall respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the rsco-pezof the invention beingindicated by the appended claims: rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States LettersPatent is:

1. In a fluid control valve construction; a valve body having an inletpassage and a smoothly curving outlet passage, the axis of the outletend thereof being substantially horizontal, the body being enlargedbetween said passages to provide a communicating passage of larger crosssectional area than said inlet and outlet passages, the Walls of saidpassages being smoothly faired to reduce friction losses; means forminga frusto-conical annular valve seat substantially flush with saidsmoothly faired walls at the juncture of said inlet and communicatingpassages; a valve closure in said communicating passage operable toengage said seat to close said valve and to be shifted axially in adirection normal to the plane of said valve seat into said enlargedcommunicating passage to open said valve, the axis of said seat and ofthe movement of said closure being disposed at an angle with saidsubstantially horizontal axis of said outlet passage, said closurehaving a smoothly curved convex bottom surface which when said closureis raised from said seat, is inclined with respect to said outletpassage to direct the fluid toward said outlet passage; and guide meansengaged with the periphery of said closure to guide it in its axialmovements, said guide means comprising curved vanes projecting from thesurface of said communicating passage at opposite sides of said closureand inclined toward said outlet passage to direct the fluid thereto.

2. In a fluid control valve construction; a valve body having an inletpassage and a smoothly curving outlet passage, the axis of the outletend thereof being substantially horizontal, the body being enlargedbetween said passages to provide a communicating passage of larger crosssectional area than said inlet and outlet passages, the walls of saidpassages being smoothly faired to reduce friction losses; means formingan annular valve seat in said smoothly fail-ed walls substantially flushtherewith at the juncture of said inlet and communicating passages, theupper surface of said seat being disposed at an acute angle with respectto said substantially horizontal axis of said inlet passages; and avalve closure in said communicating passage axially movable in adirection normal to the plane of said valve seat across the ingress endof said outlet passage to engage said seat to close said inlet passageand into said enlarged communicating passage to open said inlet passage,said closure having a smoothly curved convex bottom surface which whensaid closure is raised from said seat, is inclined with respect to saidhorizontal axis of said outlet passage to direct the fluid toward saidoutlet passage.

3. The valve construction described in claim 2 wherein said body has abore opposite said seat and normal to the plane of said seat, and apiston slidable in said bore for the full stroke thereof to guide saidclosure in its movements, said piston being rigidly connected to saidclosure by an element constructed and arranged to seal the bottom ofsaid bore when said closure is raised to open position.

4. The valve construction described in claim 2 wherein said body has abore opposite said seat and normal to the plane of said seat; a guidemeans axially spaced from said closure and slidably mounted in saidbore; and connecting means rigidly connecting said guide means and saidclosure, said connecting means being constructed and arranged to sealthe bottom of said bore when said closure is raised.

5. The valve construction described in claim 2 wherein said body has abore opposite said seat and normal to the plane of said seat; a guidemeans axially spaced from said closure and slidably mounted in saidbore; and connecting means rigidly connecting said guide means and saidclosure, said connecting means comprising a sealing element spaced fromsaid guide means and closure and sealing the end of the bore facing saidvalve seat in the open position of said closure.

6. The valve construction described in claim 3; and guide means withinsaid enlarged portion and engaged with the periphery of said closure toguide it in its axial movements, said guide means comprising vanesprojecting from the surface of said enlarged portion between the inletand said bore and inclined toward said outlet passage to direct thefluid thereto.

7. The valve construction described in claim 2 wherein said body has abore opposite said seat and normal to the plane of said seat; a guidemeans comprising a piston slidably mounted in said bore and connectingmeans rigidly connecting said piston and said closure, said connectingmeans including an annular element operable to close the end of the borefacing said seat when said closure is raised from said seat.

8. In the valve construction described in claim 7; guide means withinsaid enlarged portion and engaged with the periphery of said closure toguide it in its axial movements, said guide means comprising curvedvanes projecting from the surface of said enlarged portion between theinlet and said bore and clined toward said outlet passage to direct thefluid thereto.

9. A valve body comprising a fluid expansion chamber and having inletand outlet passages communicating with said chamber, the axis of theoutlet end of said outlet passage being substantially horizontal, thewalls of said passages being smoothly faired to reduce friction losses;means forming an annular valve seat substantially flush with saidsmoothly faired walls and surrounding the inner end of said inletpassage, said seat being disposed in an inclined plane slopingdownwardly and away from said substantially horizontal portion of saidoutlet passage; a valve guiding bore coaxial with said seat; and aplurality of flow directing and valve guiding vanes projectinginternally from the walls of said expansion chamber, said vanes beinginclined across the path of the entering fluid from a point adjacent thevalve seat substantially to the ingress end of the outlet passage anddirectly diverting entering fluid from said inlet passage into theingress end of said outlet passage.

10. In a fluid control valve construction; a valve body having inlet andoutlet passages, each of said passages having a substantally horizontalportion, said body being enlarged between said passages to provide acommunicating passage of larger cross sectional area than said inlet andsaid outlet passages, said inlet passage having a reversely curvedsection communicating with said enlarged body section, said outletpassage being smoothly downwardly curved from its ingress end to itsegress end, the walls of said passages being smoothly faired to reducefric- 9. tion losses; means forming an annular valve seat in saidsmoothly faired walls substantially flush therewith at the juncture ofsaid inlet and communicating passages; a valve closure in saidcommunicating passage operable to engage said seat to close said valveand to be shifted axially in a direction normal to the plane of saidvalve seat into said enlarged communicating passage to open said valve,the axis of said seat and the movement of said closure being disposed atan obtuse angle with the substantially horizontal egress end of saidoutlet passage, said closure having a smoothly curved convex bottomsurface, which, when said closure is raised from-said seat, is inclinedwith respect to said outlet passage to direct the fluid towards saidoutlet passage.

11. The fluid control valve according to claim 10 together with guidemeans engageable with the periphery of said closure to guide it in itsaxial movements, said guide means comprising 10 curved vanes projectingfrom the surface of said communicating passage at opposite sides of saidclosure and inclined toward said outlet passage to direct the fluidthereto.

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